SUPERSTARDJ01
27-12-12, 12:44 PM
So, I’ve been living with the K1200r for a couple of months now and it has it’s positives and negatives, so I’ll start with why I chose this particular bike over the Japanese alternatives.
I considered other super naked’s such as the CB1000r but all I saw in my price range were not in the condition I wanted and when I went to look at one I decided they’re a bit short, the speed triple was on my radar until I got an insurance quote then it quickly dropped off, I’ve had and killed a Tuono, and my last other consideration was an FZ1, my issue with all of these bikes though is they’re all chain driven and I liked the idea of a no maintenance shaft drive also I’ve gotten a little sick of adjusting or paying for someone to adjust the suspension, this meant my only real choice was a BMW and I wanted a naked bike this meant a KR series, as it has a shaft and ESA (electronic suspension adjustment).
I searched around for a while and found one I could afford at a garage that would give me a reasonable trade-in value for my STR, so I purchased the bike.
Now after nearly 2 mths of ownership and 1000 miles I’ve come to realise these big engines (or maybe it’s just BMW) aren’t good at lower speeds say 1st or 2nd at below 30mph, they surge alot, I can have a map update but Wollaston’s BMW advised against it as they had to buy a customers bike back after changing the mapping because it severally reduced the power out put, so I lived with this for a while but yesterday installed a booster plug, this basically fools the CPU in to thinking it’s a few degrees cooler than it actually is, this makes the engine run slightly richer smoothing out flat spots, increasing throttle response and getting rid of the surging while strangely enough increase mpg by about 2mpg, I fitted and tested it and it’s transformed the bike now it’s even more of a pleasure to ride.
The K12r pulls like a train from 0-180 claimed with 160 BHP claimed, it feels super strong but extremely capable and really smooth, yes it’s a heavy bike but the weight is all low down so it feels quite light and agile in the corners, it has conti road attacks on which are just simply one of the best tyres I’ve ever used they are fantastic in wet dry cold not tried the warmth yet, I would recommend them.
Finally thank god if I forget to change at a roundabout I can block change at stand still with no issues, no more rocking back and forth to get in to 1st or neutral, gear changes are smooth and precise no false neutrals no jumping out gear nothing just click, click, click, clutch is heavy but not painful, brakes are good, it has ABS but they’re ABS linked so when the front is pulled it activates the front and a partial rear, the rear only controls the rear, they’re also servo assisted which is great but if it fails you only residual braking or reduced performance, not so great.
The suspension is weird and some people don’t like it, personally I don’t notice much of a difference only under harder braking there is less nose diving making it more controllable, you can apparently brake in corners with it without upsetting the bike, but after years of not doing it I still just don’t do it, so I can’t comment on this, the ESA is fantastic, I can change from normal, comfy to sport for single, pillion, luggage 2up luggage etc on the move making it very easy to get the correct setting, at the moment I used 2up sport for just me as I’m used to a harder set up and it the way it handles in this setting.
I’ve so far installed HID’s in the hope of getting a better beam of light and although it is better it’s far far from perfect, it’s actually the worst headlight I’ve used, but still adequate, I’ve made an oil cooler guard as that’s exposed at the front, the radiator already has a factory fitted plastic guard, I’ve hooked up my heated gloves which has been awkward as the battery is at the front in the plastic tank cover, I fitted the booster plug but that’s all I’ve done so far, the seat needs to be changed as it’s extremely hard and for a pillion dangerous due to it being very slippery, the indicators being left thumb for left turn and right for right and a button on right for cancel are as an idea quite good but you do think WHY BMW just WHY, but after a few miles you see they’re awesome to use, I love them.
The servicing cost are very high, a major service is nearly £500 from BMW, insurance is cheaper than my STR was, strange? Tyres I think they eat them in around 3000-5000 miles which is ok by me, I do around 3000-4000 miles a year and expect to change them every year, fuel it does about 34-40 mpg so not too bad, it has a knock sensor so you should really only use premium fuels, riding position is more sporty than any other naked I’ve ridden but still comfy, the heated grips are very good, but not as good as the oxford heated grips, corrosion seems to be an issue as with most bikes, when I picked it up, it had 1 bolt head slightly rusty, I stupidly forgot to rinse it down after a week of ridding now it has about 6-7 bots starting to rust.
So that’s my report, I think I’ve found possibly the perfect bike for me for now.
I considered other super naked’s such as the CB1000r but all I saw in my price range were not in the condition I wanted and when I went to look at one I decided they’re a bit short, the speed triple was on my radar until I got an insurance quote then it quickly dropped off, I’ve had and killed a Tuono, and my last other consideration was an FZ1, my issue with all of these bikes though is they’re all chain driven and I liked the idea of a no maintenance shaft drive also I’ve gotten a little sick of adjusting or paying for someone to adjust the suspension, this meant my only real choice was a BMW and I wanted a naked bike this meant a KR series, as it has a shaft and ESA (electronic suspension adjustment).
I searched around for a while and found one I could afford at a garage that would give me a reasonable trade-in value for my STR, so I purchased the bike.
Now after nearly 2 mths of ownership and 1000 miles I’ve come to realise these big engines (or maybe it’s just BMW) aren’t good at lower speeds say 1st or 2nd at below 30mph, they surge alot, I can have a map update but Wollaston’s BMW advised against it as they had to buy a customers bike back after changing the mapping because it severally reduced the power out put, so I lived with this for a while but yesterday installed a booster plug, this basically fools the CPU in to thinking it’s a few degrees cooler than it actually is, this makes the engine run slightly richer smoothing out flat spots, increasing throttle response and getting rid of the surging while strangely enough increase mpg by about 2mpg, I fitted and tested it and it’s transformed the bike now it’s even more of a pleasure to ride.
The K12r pulls like a train from 0-180 claimed with 160 BHP claimed, it feels super strong but extremely capable and really smooth, yes it’s a heavy bike but the weight is all low down so it feels quite light and agile in the corners, it has conti road attacks on which are just simply one of the best tyres I’ve ever used they are fantastic in wet dry cold not tried the warmth yet, I would recommend them.
Finally thank god if I forget to change at a roundabout I can block change at stand still with no issues, no more rocking back and forth to get in to 1st or neutral, gear changes are smooth and precise no false neutrals no jumping out gear nothing just click, click, click, clutch is heavy but not painful, brakes are good, it has ABS but they’re ABS linked so when the front is pulled it activates the front and a partial rear, the rear only controls the rear, they’re also servo assisted which is great but if it fails you only residual braking or reduced performance, not so great.
The suspension is weird and some people don’t like it, personally I don’t notice much of a difference only under harder braking there is less nose diving making it more controllable, you can apparently brake in corners with it without upsetting the bike, but after years of not doing it I still just don’t do it, so I can’t comment on this, the ESA is fantastic, I can change from normal, comfy to sport for single, pillion, luggage 2up luggage etc on the move making it very easy to get the correct setting, at the moment I used 2up sport for just me as I’m used to a harder set up and it the way it handles in this setting.
I’ve so far installed HID’s in the hope of getting a better beam of light and although it is better it’s far far from perfect, it’s actually the worst headlight I’ve used, but still adequate, I’ve made an oil cooler guard as that’s exposed at the front, the radiator already has a factory fitted plastic guard, I’ve hooked up my heated gloves which has been awkward as the battery is at the front in the plastic tank cover, I fitted the booster plug but that’s all I’ve done so far, the seat needs to be changed as it’s extremely hard and for a pillion dangerous due to it being very slippery, the indicators being left thumb for left turn and right for right and a button on right for cancel are as an idea quite good but you do think WHY BMW just WHY, but after a few miles you see they’re awesome to use, I love them.
The servicing cost are very high, a major service is nearly £500 from BMW, insurance is cheaper than my STR was, strange? Tyres I think they eat them in around 3000-5000 miles which is ok by me, I do around 3000-4000 miles a year and expect to change them every year, fuel it does about 34-40 mpg so not too bad, it has a knock sensor so you should really only use premium fuels, riding position is more sporty than any other naked I’ve ridden but still comfy, the heated grips are very good, but not as good as the oxford heated grips, corrosion seems to be an issue as with most bikes, when I picked it up, it had 1 bolt head slightly rusty, I stupidly forgot to rinse it down after a week of ridding now it has about 6-7 bots starting to rust.
So that’s my report, I think I’ve found possibly the perfect bike for me for now.